Response to Telemedicine Visits From Patients With Parkinsonism During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Postvisit Surveys

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonism are common chronic neurodegenerative disorders that tend to affect older adults and cause physical and sometimes cognitive limitations. Given that these limitations could impact successful telemedicine use, we aimed to investigate the experiences of patients with parkinsonism using telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 19-item survey was emailed to patients with parkinsonism following telemedicine visits at a single US tertiary care parkinsonism specialty clinic. Seventy-four individuals responded, out of 270 invitations sent. Almost two-thirds (61.6%) of the respondents were comfortable with using technology in general, and almost all were very satisfied with their telemedicine experience. The most commonly reported benefits included cost and travel savings, ease of access to a specialist, and time savings. Issues with technology and previsit instructions were the most commonly identified challenges (28%). Urgent implementation, due to the pandemic, of telemedicine care for patients with parkinsonism was feasible and well received. The challenges most commonly reported by patients could be potentially alleviated by better education and support.